Vicky Nguyen (born ) is a

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese-born American investigative journalist working with

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Nguyen joined NBC News in April 2019 as the Investigative and Consumer correspondent. Her reporting has been seen on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', ''3rd Hour Today'', '' Nightly News with Lester Holt'', ''

NBC News Now NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

'' and

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

. Prior to moving to New York, Nguyen worked for

KNTV KNTV (channel 11), branded NBC Bay Area, is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Sta ...

, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

owned-and-operated station in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. There, she served as a senior investigative reporter for the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit and anchor of the Sunday evening news on NBC Bay Area. Before joining NBC Bay Area, Nguyen worked at various television stations in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Early life and education

Nguyen was born in

Saigon, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. At a very young age, she and her parents fled Vietnam as refugees. After two days, two nights and a Thai pirate attack on the open ocean, their boat landed on the coast of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, where Nguyen and her family stayed in a refugee camp for 10 months. Nguyen immigrated to the United States in 1980. A family in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

sponsored her family to America. She spent most of her childhood in San Jose and

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, and became a

U.S. citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...

at age 10. She went to elementary school at Santee Elementary in San Jose. Nguyen went on to attend college at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

on an academic scholarship. During her time at the university, Nguyen was a member of the cheer squad and served as president of her student body. In 2000, she graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of her class with a degree in communications and a minor in biology.

Professional career

Nguyen started her career with

Central Florida News 13 News 13 (also officially known as Spectrum News 13 as of September 24, 2017) is an American cable news television channel owned by Charter Communications. The channel provides 24-hour rolling news coverage focused primarily on Central Florida, ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. While there, she shot, wrote and edited her stories before delivering live reports. She wrote on her blog, "I was a 'one man band.' I shot my own video on a 20 pound DVC Pro camera (and) carried my own 15 pound tripod." She then moved to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

affiliate

KOLO Kolo may refer to: Places Poland *Koło *Koło, Łódź Voivodeship * Koło, Lublin Voivodeship *Koło, Lubusz Voivodeship Other places *Kamalanka, which was also known as ''Kolo'', an ancient kingdom in present-day Thailand * Kolo, Bosnia and He ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

as a nightside reporter and fill-in anchor. Following her time in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, Nguyen moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

to work with KSAZ. At KSAZ, she was able to cover national stories. Notable interviews include

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

. Nguyen also had the opportunity to cover the Baseline Killer and Serial Shooter investigations while with KSAZ, which was the first instance in which two separate serial killers attacked the same city at the same time.

NBC

Nguyen returned to

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

in January 2007, and started working with

NBC Bay Area KNTV (channel 11), branded NBC Bay Area, is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stat ...

as a freelance reporter. Shortly thereafter she was hired full-time, and worked as a special assignment reporter for

. Nguyen was eventually promoted to anchor/senior investigative reporter with

. While in that role, she worked closely with the

Investigative Unit. In April 2019, Nguyen moved from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to accept a new role as an investigative and consumer correspondent for

. Since joining

she has been on ''

'', ''3rd Hour Today'', ''Nightly News with Lester Holt'',

NBC News Daily ''NBC News Daily'' is an American daytime news program that premiered on NBC on September 12, 2022, and is programmed as a part of NBC News' streaming service, NBC News Now. The hour-long block is carried live in each time zone and is anchored ...

and

. She also co-anchors

Awards

Nguyen was honored with the 2019

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

for "Drivers Under Siege" about the rise in violent attacks on Bay Area bus operators. Her work has also been recognized with the

Scripps Howard Award The Scripps Howard Awards, formerly the National Journalism Awards, are $10,000 awards in American journalism given by the Scripps Howard Foundation. Awardees receive "cash prizes, citations and plaques." As of 2023, the categories are: * Exce ...

, the

Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...

, the

National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

, three Gracie awards, two Clarion awards, 15 regional Emmy awards and three regional Murrow awards. In addition, she has earned several awards from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). * 2015

– Jack R. Howard Award for Television/Cable In-Depth Local Coverage. * 2015

– Video/Audio Winner. * 2019

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. * 2020 New York Woman of Impact by

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

Personal life

Nguyen and her husband have three daughters. In 2025, she published her memoir ''Boat Baby'', which shares her family’s journey from Vietnam to the United States and her experiences growing up as a Vietnamese American.

Works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Vicky 1979 births Living people University of San Francisco alumni Vietnamese emigrants to the United States People from Ho Chi Minh City Gerald Loeb Award winners for Audio and Video American broadcast news analysts American investigative journalists American women memoirists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American women writers People from Santa Rosa, California Mass media people from San Jose, California Journalists from California NBC News people